


Forever Yours

by QueenPlatypus



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Sad Ending, Song Lyrics, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28039044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPlatypus/pseuds/QueenPlatypus
Summary: He could never live without her, but he has to.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Forever Yours

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I wanted to do something a little different this time, so...
> 
> This ficlet is based on the song Forever Yours by the band Grayscale. Everything in italic are their lyrics. 
> 
> Enjoy!

His alarm beeped to awake him, but since he had barely slept at all, it was completely pointless. He was plainly awake when he smashed his hand on the clock to make it stop.

_Stained glass patterns porcelain_

Ethan sat up in his bed, sighing heavily as he looked around. It was a sunny day and it illuminated the room. He settled his gaze on a particular frame: where there was a picture of her. Where both of them were happy, smiling with not a single care in the world. He watched her frozen frame. Her hair, as gold as the sun, shining on the shoulder she put her ponytail on, was unmissable. So did her green eyes, always reminding him of the summer. It only took a look to remember the way he felt whenever she was near him.

_Your watercolors running_

_All your paintings_

_Are fading from the walls_

He sighs, turning his head towards what used to be her side of the bed. If he closed his eyes, he could easily picture her there. Still sleeping, her features relaxed, the content sigh she would occasionally let out as she was having a peaceful dream. The way she would move a little to feel the warmth emanating from his body while not awaking. The feel of feeling her smooth skin against his.

_Miss, I miss the way you breathe_

_The way you twitch in your sleep_

_Your smile, your straight teeth_

_And the scars along your cheeks_

He threw his blanket away, shaking his head as he got up and headed to the bathroom.

***

“Tada! What do you think?”

Ethan smiled as he watched her twirl in her brand new white coat. Seeing her so happy even though it was almost the same thing, only with the new Bloom Edenbrook logo made him laugh.

“It suits you. White looks quite good on you.”

“Hmm… Is there something you are trying to tell me?” She teased him.

“Not in the moment. You still got a residency to finish.”

“Yeah… Can’t wait! Those last two years have been absolutely great, don’t get me wrong, but… I’m so excited to be an attending!”

“And I’m positive you’ll be absolutely great…”

He walked up to her, kissing her forehead while hugging her.

“As long as you keep…”

“Pushing myself?”

“Exactly.”

“You have absolutely nothing to worry about, I promise!”

She got on her tip toes, giving him a peck before grabbing his hand and pulling him, making both of them fall on his bed with a laugh. He waited no time before kissing her, his hand finding their familiar spot on her as she moved up hers to tangle her fingers in his hair. As he bit down her lip, she let out a gasp quickly followed by a chuckle before he pressed his lips on hers again, making them the only connection between their bodies while they were throwing their clothes away.

_All the promises_

_Vows under the covers_

_We would play pretend my love_

_But it was real to me_

“Hailey?” He asked her a few minutes later, still keeping her naked frame close to his.

“Yes?”

“Whatever happens after your residency ends… Promise me you’ll tell me.”

“Of course… I was going to do it anyway, but… May I ask why?”

“Well… Because when an amazing hospital employs you… I want to follow.”

“Wait… Really? But what about Edenbrook? What about the diagnostics team?”

“Both matter to me, but… not as much as you. And since I’m who I am and you’re just getting started… I’ll get another job quite easily almost anywhere in the country, so… Wherever you go, I go.”

She giggled, hugging him tightly as she pressed kisses after kisses on his cheeks, making him laugh because of the tickling.

“Could never live without me, huh?” She asked with a coy smile.

“You could say that… But mostly… Why would I stay away from the woman that I love when I couldn’t?”

“You know, when I first met you, I wouldn’t have taken you for a romantic sap.”

She leans, her lips brushing against his as she speaks.

“But I love it. As much as I love you, in fact.”

He smiles, closing the distance once more to take her lips in another kiss. She melts into it instantly and he uses the occasion to wrap his arms around her, pressing her closer to him and turning them around.

***

All dressed up, Ethan looks down at the velvet box in his hand. He opens it after a while, looking at the two golden rings inside of it. The larger meant for him, and the smaller meant for her.

Carefully, he takes this one out, watching it shine under the light. He still remembers the day they went to make them. He could see her, eyeing every ring presented cautiously before stating her choice. Upon seeing them, he knew she was right: those rings were the perfect ones for them.

He could still see his name written inside her ring, matching his own one that had her name in a similar place. Lowering it, he looked at it in his palm. The gold warmed up a little since he had taken it out of the box, but that made him close his eyes to take a deep breath. The thought that the ring would never be warm because of her was mostly killing him.

_Now I waste my days away_

_I know I can’t recover_

He closes the box once the rings are back inside, settling it inside his pocket. Getting up, he walks to the door, quickly patting Jenner’s head before reaching for his keys. He gets out of his apartment and instantly notices how his neighbor freezes up before quickly walking away. He sighs. Everyone knows what happened. To him, but mostly to _her_. And now, whenever he crosses paths with anyone aware of their story, there are only two possible outcome: they look at him with pity written all over their faces, or they avoid him at all cost.

Keeping a hand over the pocket where he put the box, he gets out of the building, heading for his car. He unlocks the doors, sits behind the wheel and watches the street in front of him. He pats the box one last time before turning on the engine.

_There’s no love lost_

_But I’ll be forever yours_

***

The green grass beneath his hands is soft, as much as her voice as she tells him about a thing her friends did a few days ago. Her smile is infectious and he can’t help but replicate it as he looks at her. The wind blowing a few strands of her hair away, the sun making her shine even more brighter than she already did on her own.

When she’s done, she smiles and gets up, holding her hand out to him.

“C’mon, let’s go for a walk. It’s not every day we both have a day off and are able to walk together in a non-hurried pace.”

“You might be right about that.”

He grabs her hand, intertwining their fingers together and gets up, letting her set up the pace as they walk barefoot in the grass.

_Walk the grove we’d always go_

_Where the summer made our shadows tall_

_I look out for them_

“Gosh, how can you still be taller than me even as a shadow? It looks like a more friendly version of Slender Man!”

“Am… I supposed to know who that is?”

“I’ll show you when we return home. But anyway, how many ways do you have of being a giraffe?”

He laughs, squeezing her hand.

“I didn’t take you for a jealous person?”

“I’m not! All I’m saying is that it’s unfair. Be generous, you know?”

“I believe I’m plenty generous already.”

In a swift motion, he gets before her, grabs her by her hips and lifts her up, turning with her in his arms as she let out a surprised shriek, quickly followed by her laughter as she throws her arms around his neck.

They fall on the grass and, behaving like children, they start rolling down the hill, holding each other close as they laugh together. Ethan is smiling so hard that he thinks his whole face will remain frozen as it is. All of this because of her. But as long as she stays with him, by his side, he doesn’t care if he looks like a lovesick idiot. She’s worth it. Even when he didn’t know it, she was worth it. She had always been.

“Marry me.” He whispered against her lips.

She stiffens, getting off of him as she looks at him with her eyes widened.

“What?” She asks, surprised.

“Marry me.”

“But… I thought… You said I had a residency to finish…”

“Yes. What I’m proposing is, if you accept, that we start planning everything after your residency is done. For now… we can only be engaged.”

“I…”

She looks at him, a few tears threatening to come out.

“Ethan… Do you even have a ring?” She asks with a laugh.

“… No. But we can go and fix that right now if you say yes. So?”

“So…”

She tears up, but still manages to nod her positive answer before lunging at him, making him fall on his back as she presses her lips on his hard.

“Yes. I’ll marry you.” She says, kissing him again.

His smile keeps growing. He had never been happier than in this moment.

***

The cold autumn hair makes him shiver as he sits down on the now brownish grass. He runs his hand through it and watches his own shadow: yet another reminder that it will never be along any other.

Whenever they came here to relax, just the two of them, they would watch over their shadows, but now…

_But now there’s only one_

He looks up at the sky, trying to catch the sun. Still, it seems it wants to stay well-hidden behind the clouds, shying away from the harsh truth Ethan was forced to live for the rest of his life.

_Run my hands through winter grass_

_Pretend I feel your warmth again_

_But the grass is cold and dead_

_My pain might never end_

He shakes his head, walking away back to his car. He decides he has seen enough of this place. It’s still ironic to think that the simple thought of coming here filled him with joy whenever he was coming here with her. Now though… being here only reminded him of what could no longer be. And currently, everything was this cruel reminder.

He got back inside his car, rolling away to get back in the city. As he did, he stopped at a red light and glanced through the side window. He could see a cathedral standing there. He let out a dry laugh. He never had been a religious type of guy, but he would have been willing to get married there if she wanted to.

_That cathedral hall_

_And that ivy wall, aisle I’ll never know_

The light turned green and Ethan pushed his foot onto the acceleration pedal, eager to get away from this place as fast as he could. He focused once more on the road ahead of him, still aware that he had one place left to go before he could get back home. Everything was ready, he just needed to do it, now.

After a few minutes, he parks the car in an empty spot, grabbing what he needed. He walked and judging from the looks of the people walking nearby, he looked like a zombie. He didn’t care, of course. In a way, it was true: even he was able to acknowledge it even if he had no intention of changing.

_Could never live without you_

_But I guess I’ll have to_

He passes the metallic doors, already knowing which way to go and keeps looking forward as he walks near all the other tombstones. He’s been here only twice since she… got here, but he had no trouble remembering where she would now rest forever. In one hand, he held the bouquet he had bought before going to their spot and in the other, he protectively hovered the pocket containing the ring box.

A few minutes later, he was facing it. The proof that she would never be here again. The proof that he would never be able to be with her again.

_You’re gone, gone, gone_

He sighs, forcing himself to fight back the tears and contain the growing unpleasant bubble in his throat. He lowers himself before the stone, setting the bouquet on his thighs as he gets the box out of his pocket. Opening it, he takes out her ring before sliding it on one of the flowers. Only then, he sets them on the tombstone, a slight smile on his lips.

“Hi, Rookie.”

He feels it. The first tear. A whole dam breaks within him and, not able to contain himself, he gives in, crying. His hand still clutches the ring box and even though he is devastated by his new reality, he is also more angry than he had never been. Angry at the world, angry that she couldn’t be saved, angry that she had left him alone, angry that she left without telling him, angry that yet another important woman in his life left it. And even though none of this was her fault… He was still angry she wasn’t here anymore.

He misses her so much. It had only been three months since she passed away, but it still felt like it was yesterday. In all honesty, Ethan still didn’t know if that suffocating feeling would ever fade away. He was damn sure his sadness would never, though. How could it?

For many years, Ethan Ramsey didn’t believe in true love. A love so pure it would overcome everything and anything. A love that could heal and energize him at the same time. A love that would become all that matters. Up until she died, he didn’t even believe in the concept of soulmates. But now… Everything was different.

Because even though he was still in love with her… It all meant nothing. It would never mean anything again. But he knows he will never get over it. He loves her. He will love her until his very last breath. There’s no redeeming for him, he already knows it.

With a shuddering breath, he glances at the open box he’s still holding. He sees his own ring. The one she was supposed to put on his finger as she exchanged her vows, at the altar, in her white dress. But since she would never be able to do so… he picked up the ring himself, twirling it between his fingers before he finally slipped it on the right finger.

He brought his knuckles to his lips, pressing a kiss on the ring before settling his palm on the tombstone that had her name on it. He closed his eyes.

_There’s no love lost_

_But I’ll be forever yours._


End file.
